The Best Time Ever (***update at end of post***)

It's been a bit of a rough week. I was glad for it to be over and head up to the beautiful Lehigh Valley for the half marathon this weekend with my good friend, Amy. This is my third consecutive year running this race. I ran it with Amy the first year and she returned again this year for another go at it. We came into town early afternoon on Saturday to go to the expo. Here's Amy,, looking cute as ever with her expo gear bag. And here we are, oh so cute and fabulous outside the expo. I'm warning you... if you haven't already figured it out.. there are going to be a lot of pictures in this entry, so if you're one of those running goobers who is primarily interested in the blow-by-blow race report, perhaps this entry isn't for you.
The past two years, there has been a Peep car at the expo. Essentially, it's a yellow VW Beetle with a giant yellow peep chick molded onto the top. It's become tradition to have one's picture taken with the Peep-mobile. We were sorely disappointed at it's absence this year. So, of course, I improvised. Amy was nervous that I'd be arrested by one of the half dozen officers standing about twenty feet away. Of course, that didn't happen. If she hadn't have been such a nervous Nelly, I may have hopped up on the seat.

After the expo, we took a trip to Allentown's recycling center. Yes, it's more exciting than it may sound. And then, off to the hairdresser. Amy has lived in the Philadelphia area for several years now, but being the loyal lass that she is, she returns every few months to visit her hairdresser of ten years (who's name is escaping me right now). Fabulous 'do! We (her hairdresser and I) tried to talk her into something a little different, but clearly, Amy doesn't do too well with change.
After buying some fabulous new sunglasses at the Bon-ton (dig the zexy security tag), we met up with Sarah, Meera, Tom, and Deb for a lovely dinner at one of Allentown's fine dining establishments. Then it was off to one of the new super-fabulous Wawas (you know, the fancy ones with the gas pumps) to get some breakfast stuff. Amy didn't know it, but I lifted a Sweet & Low packet right from under the noses of some of Allentown's finest (for some reason, I think they were following us). Here I am posing for my mug shot. We arrived plenty early for the pre-race socializing (and porta-potty-party). This is one of my favorite pictures... truly captures what me and Amy are all about. I had made arrangements to meet up with Maggie - a fellow blogger who I have not before had the pleasure of meeting. Unfortunately, by the time we caught up with each other, my bag (along with my camera) had been checked. It was great to finally meet her and her husband after reading her blog for so many months. See Maggie's blog for an artistic rendering of the scene.

Okay, okay... onto the actual race stuff.... We could not have asked for a better day, weather wise. Conditions were puuurfect. Overcast, low 50s, no real wind to speak of. Just perfect. This is definitely the hilliest race that I regularly run. This being my third shot at it, I felt fairly comfortable in knowing where the hills are and what, in general, to expect from the course. There are slight and gradual inclines and declines in the first five or six miles, but it really isn't until into the eighth mile that the hills start to come. None of them are particularly long, but some of them are fairly steep. Plus after already running eight or more miles, the legs are kind of tired. Miles eight, nine, and ten have the worst of the hills. Knowing this, I kept my pace in check for those first six miles, I knew that I'd like to average an 8:40 pace or below.

My first three miles were each 8:35 exactly. Yes, I was impressed with my pacing. Subsequent miles were a bit faster, but I was feeling strong and felt as though the pace was relaxed. Of course, the hills were a bummer and tough, but I got through them as well as I could and still had enough left in the tank to run well enough in those last three miles. I vividly remember last year, just having almost nothing left by that point and really hating the race. It didn't get to that point this year, and for that, I was very pleased.

At the time of this posting, the official results weren't up, but according to my watch, I finished in 1:52:20 - more than 5 minutes ahead of my time from last year and my fastest time on this course by over three minutes. I was pleased. I really felt like I ran a smart race. This kind of feels like another first in my evolution as a runner - actually having a plan for a race and successfully implementing it. I'm happy! And Amy surprised herself with running a great race for supposedly being out of shape. Whatever, Amy... you rock.

We decided to 'cool down' by walking back to the hotel - which was probably about a mile from the race finish. We debated the merits of this decision - given that our legs were aching and we were both having some left knee issues. But this made it all worthwhile. Only in Allentown, ladies and gentlemen:
Please note the Jesus painting, the Monster Truck/Demolition Derby poster, and the Billy Graham flyer (the wrestler, not to be confused with the Evangelical preacher). Priceless.

We will definitely be back next year.

UPDATE
And now the stats you've all been waiting for...
Official Chip Time is 1:52:24
54th woman in my age group (out of 246 women)
306th woman out of 1527 women runners
And MOST importantly....
FIRST PLACE in the coveted Rebecca Division (out of 12)!!!!

Home

I'm getting spoiled by all of this beautiful weather. It's been so perfect for running - cool, but sunny... temps in the mid 50s. This morning was no exception. I woke up a bit before my alarm and just lay in bed listening to the chorus of birds.... the call of Tinicum. This is my second spring running there and it truly does feel like home.

So out I went. My last run before Allentown. I left the watch at home and didn't even entertain the idea of the iPod. I knew this was going to be an easy run - just the initial loop (interesting part, then boring part). I felt good; I had energy; no nagging aches or pains. This, I thought, is how running should be.

Funny thing about today's run... the interesting part was not so interesting. Of course it was beautiful and it was interesting to note just how much the foliage had grown, narrowing the path. I suppose its still too early for the turtles to be laying their eggs - a few more weeks. And yet, almost as soon as I set foot on the 'boring part', I spotted one of the first Tinicum bunnies of the season. Along that stretch, I'd see about seven or eight, in total. All adults - but I know that, too, will change soon. At one point, I felt like I was watching a rabbit relay. No sooner would one scurry down the trail and dart into the brush when another would appear to run the next leg. I could almost swear I saw them passing off a carrot to one another. And, of course, a few memebers of the official Tinicum track club were out and about.

Simply a beautiful morning and I was glad to be home.

Suddenly Spring

Set out this morning around West Philly again. Beautiful morning. I so do not miss the cold and the wind from just last month. Seems like ages ago at this point. This being my 34th spring season on Earth, you'd think that I'd be accustomed by now to how quickly the grass grows, how instantly the leaves seem to appear on the trees. But every year it amazes me and catches me somewhat off guard. This morning I found myself marveling at the sudden appearance of life. I thought about Tinicum and that I should be running there today. Friday... for sure.

After running the 5k this weekend, I think my body was still in fast-runner mode and my first mile came in pretty fast for me - about 8:13. I tried to slow it down a bit, but my body just wanted to go, go, go. I felt good today... not like one of those I could run forever days, but still.... no maladies to report. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that to be true on Sunday as well when I run Lehigh.

Cut the route a little bit short today (5.1 vs 5.4), after all, this is my taper week. I'll run the initial loop of Tinicum this Friday - and hopefully spot some turtles and bunnies... and then I'll rest up for Sunday.

5.1 in 43:10

More Reasons to Hate Clean Air

This morning was the infamous (that means more than famous) Clean Air 5k. Last year Linmark messed up the measurement of the course - making it a 4.9k, much to the chagrin of more than just a few local runners.

The morning started out nicely - sunny day, a bit warm, but nice, really. I met up with some of the ole Red Rovers - Amy and Justin. Barb and JP were supposed to show, but overslept and missed the race. My co-worker, Stacey, joined us as well - making our team three redheads strong.

I didn't really know what to expect from myself in this race. My training hasn't been great lately. If you've been keeping up, I've been complaining about how I've slowed down quite a bit - albeit unintentionally.... and there has been absolutely NO speed work going on. Plus I ran yesterday. Running two days in a row is not something I usually (read: hardly ever) do, so I wasn't sure how tired my legs would feel. But, as always, I would try my best.

Registration pick up left a lot to be desired. They had no safety pins for the bibs - so the race folks were telling people not to bother with their bibs - and just to be sure they wore their chip. Ok fine. I overheard one runner ask someone behind the registration table what time the race began. He did not know. *Sheesh* Top notch race organization.

I forgot my watch, so I had to rely on the course timers. The first mile marker was the only one (besides the finish) to have a timer. Mile 1 came in around 8:05. Mile 2 felt about as fast... maybe 3 to 5 seconds slower, but who really knows. Mile 3 I was tired. The sun was beating down and I really felt like my legs were beat. As I crossed what I thought was the finish line, I naturally slowed down... that is until I heard people in the crowd yelling to keep going, that the finish was, in fact, a couple dozen more yards away. Turns out Linmark never removed the chip timer mats from the start of the race... leading the runners (including me) to believe that these were the mat-timers for the finish of the race. Not so.

Fine.. no biggie - maybe I lost a second or two in the slow down. I crossed the finish line with a clock time of 25:30. Wondering what my chip time is? Yeah... so am I. I checked out the results... and I'm not there. So maybe I'm just making this whole story up - and I didn't really run the race. There is no proof that I did. Looking at Stacey's results, it looks like her chip time was about ten seconds faster than her clock time... so given that we started together, I guess that applies to me too. That's as close as it looks like I'm going to get to knowing my actual time. Good thing I didn't really have my heart set on doing well in this race.

After grabbing some water, I found Stacey and we ran out to pick up Justin and his mother who were power-walking the race. Sadly, Justin did not beat the penguin this year. Don't worry Justin - you'll get him next year.... not so sure I'll be there to see it though.

Warm up - 5k - and cool down.... probably about 4.25 miles.

Mixed Messages

Another beautiful spring morning... one where I was glad to be outside, glad that I fought that ever-present urge to stay in bed. And as I ran, I started to get the feeling that I was supposed to be out there running, that the universe was sending me 'signs' telling me that I was right where I should be. For example.... nearly all the traffic lights were green for me when I needed them to be. This almost NEVER happens - especially when running through the Penn Campus area and over the South Street bridge. But, I swear this to be true, I did not have to stop once or even slow down really during those first two miles.

As I ran through the park where people take their dogs in the morning (I just learned, through the miracles of the internet, that it's called the Markward Playground), I could see a long and slow moving freight train rumbling along the tracks. I wondered if my luck were running out and if I'd be forced to detour my route. But somehow I knew my streak would continue and, as luck would have it, the last cars of the train were passing over the cross-walk area just as I was coming around the bend. Yes, I truly felt that the stars (and freight cars) were aligning to make my run smooth.

That was until I got hit by a car. Ok... so I wasn't really hit as much as I was bumped. I was crossing a street (where, of course, I had the green light). The cars were stopped, as they should have been, and I was passing in front of them when one car began rolling forward. I could see that the driver was twisted around - trying to fish something out of the back seat - and her foot must have slid or eased off the break. It wasn't a big deal and I know I scared the bejesus out of her when I pounded on the hood of her car to let her know, "Hey, you're hitting a pedestrian here!"

Undeterred, I continued my run.... and then it almost happened again! This time it was a van was quickly backing out of an alley. I didn't see him, he didn't see me. Luckily, my cat like reflexes allowed me to skirt out of the way before any bumper-Reba contact could occur. Phew! That could have been ugly.

So... lesson learned... even when you feel like all is right in the universe and you're getting signs that you're good to go... be careful because you never know when something is going to come out of left field and knock you on your arse. And even though the universe might be sending you mixed messages... you've got to go out there and do what you think is right.

Same 5.4 as Wednesday - in 47:20.

Oh... and now the answer to the question that's on everyone's mind.

Good luck to everyone who is running Boston on Monday!!!

Morning Glory

Been a busy day and I'm feeling more pressure to write reports, than to write a blog entry, so I'll keep this short. Of course I didn't want to run - that's been a theme lately for me, but of course I'm glad I did. What a glorious spring morning. Really perfect. Even I couldn't find anything to complain about weather wise.

Had some tightness in my calves, but nothing major and I didn't even stop to stretch them out.

5.4 thru West Philly in 47:30.

Chasing a Ghost

I don't know anyone who truly looks forward to a long run. I'm of the mind that anyone who says they do is a stinkin' liar. I knew I wanted to do 12ish today - my last long run before Allentown, but I won't lie to you... I wasn't looking forward to it. Part of the reason being that I've been in somewhat of a speed funk (or lack thereof, I should say) lately. I am happy that my shins/calves/hips/etc. have been keeping fairly quiet, but I am not happy that I have slowed down considerably since last fall.

I went to Tinicum and really did not put pressure on myself to run fast. I knew I'd be out there for a while and it was important to me to finish the run, so I kept the pace comfortable, though still pushing it here and there. I did the interesting part of the lower loop and then two full loops around Darby Lake before heading back down the connector stretch, down the boring part of the lower loop, and then home. My energy level was good for about three quarters of the run and then I was really starting to feel tired, but I was okay with that. I should feel tired after running 9+ miles. Other than the fatigue... everything else felt good.

Piecing together from various g-maps I have of the area, it seems that my run was about 12.6 miles. I finished in 1 hour 53 minutes, which is barely shy of a nine minute mile. I know I said that I intentionally didn't push the pace, but I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by this. I look back to this past fall when I ran a 1:49:38 at the PDR. That's an 8:22 pace.... which seems so far out of my grasp right now and that is really frustrating.

I know I should be grateful that I'm running injury free these days and I very much am. I need to keep that in mind. It's hard though.

But... as they say... the hay is in the barn. And, of course, the idea of that makes me smile. Two weeks until Allentown. I'll do my best.

Need to hit the reset button

Had to be in Plymouth Meeting early on Friday morning. I didn't have time to run in the morning, so I delayed it until the afternoon. I ran the same West Philly loop that I've run on numerous occasions now - though I usually run it in the early morning hours as opposed to rush hour on Friday afternoon on a beautiful sunny day. Lots of folks out and about enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. As I was running by/through a frat party of sorts - some young college guy trying to be funny ran along side me for a few paces, offering his beer as refreshment. Of course I took it (no, I didn't drink any) and ran with it for a few paces - much to the delight of his buddies. I handed it off to another frat boy a few paces down the block. Don't know what became of the beer after that. It was a nice, full Corona. I should have drank it.

I'll just say it - I felt like crap during this run and stopped to walk on a few occasions. No tightness in my calves or anything like that. I just felt really, really tired and short of breath. It was frustrating. I haven't felt quite right on my runs in a week now - ever since my fall. Maybe my system got jarred when I fell last Friday. Something ain't right. I feel like I need to reboot - or hit the reset button, or something like that.

Got my long run on tap for Sunday. We'll see how it goes.

Ran for a total of 41 minutes. Can't say anything about the distance - I'll guess about 4.5.

Puzzled and Pouting

I ran Tinicum this morning - the initial loop, plus an out and back of the connector section. I intentionally took the initial mile at a somewhat relaxed pace. Judging from what I know to be the one mile mark from my house into Tinicum, the first mile came in at right around a 9 minute pace. Fine.

I picked up the pace, I thought, especially during the last two and a half miles of the run. I finished in exactly 54 minutes. So here's the thing... I G-mapped the route (but lost the link) and it's just over six miles. And by just over, I mean like by a few hundredths of a mile. I don't get it. How could I have maintained a nine minute pace while feeling like I really had stepped it up? I've been running long enough now to be able to tell when I'm running faster than I was... at least I thought so.

This was the same feeling I had on Sunday when I ran that additional four after running 8.25 with Amy. That I chalked up to a fluke and the fact that I was likely fatigued from the 8+ miles. But now today it happened too. This has me perplexed, frustrated, and wondering whether I need to revise my goal time for Allentown. I'm not happy and then I get frustrated because part of me just wants to run for the enjoyment of running and not worry so much about times. But I just don't understand how I could have suddenly become so much slower?

I don't mean to just kvetch about my slowness. I do love running in Tinicum and feel fortunate to have that resource so close by. And, overall, I felt pretty good during the run. I had to stretch out the calves after about a mile and a half, but then they were fine.

6 in 54

The Power of Friendship

I met my friend Amy at Lloyd Hall this morning. You have no idea how nice it is to type that sentence. I miss running with Amy - the miles go by so much more quickly when we're gabbing away. When the alarm went off at 6:30 - my first thought was 'gotta meet Amy'. My second thought was, 'S***, it's raining.' Luckily the first thought was a more powerful force than the second and I was able to get out the door to meet her at 7:30.

The weather was pretty nasty - upper 40s, raining, fairly windy. I'm sure, had I been going it alone, that I would have been miserable much of the time. But it really wasn't all that bad. Somehow, I think that when I run in the rain I don't get as dehydrated... like I absorb the water through osmosis. Don't think there is much truth to that, but I still like the thought.

We did the loop at a relaxed pace and caught up on each other's lives and, of course, did our best to solve each other's problems. After dropping Amy off at Lloyd Hall, I set off to do another four miles. I was feeling good at the end of my run with Amy and was interested to see what I could do for those last four. I was surprised and somewhat dismayed that despite what seemed like a good effort, I was only pulling out 9 minute miles. This didn't make me too happy. I tried to tell myself that I was tired from running the 8.25 with Amy. Still, I didn't like the splits. I tried to keep in mind that, at this point, what's most important is being on my feet and running - no matter the pace - for an extended period of time. And that I did.

8.25 miles in 82 minutes. 4 miles in 36 minutes.... total of 12.25 in 118 minutes.

An update on my contusion (thanks, Amy, for the word). I've been a bit obsessed with it's progression.... can't say why really, other than the fact that I haven't had a bruise like this in a long time... maybe ever. It's puuuurty.

We briefly interrupt this otherwise pleasant run....

I waited for the rain to stop before heading out the door this morning. It was still very wet, but not cold, and I was rather enjoying my run. That is until I took a sharp corner while passing over a metal plate/grate on the sidewalk. I don't even remember losing traction. I just know I took flight and landed hard on my left hip. Ouch. Initially, I was just in shock to be suddenly on the ground. Then, there's that momement where you do a systems check. Yeah... there was some pretty nice pain, but I felt sure I didn't shatter my pelvis or anything like that. As far as I could tell, I just had a minor scrape on the palm of my right hand and a really, really sore left hip/thigh. I'd have to wait until I got home to check for bruising - though it felt like I'd have one. I walked it off for a few minutes and then resumed my run - more cautious of slippery surfaces. Besides the wicked-googly wipe out - the run felt good. No calf pain/tightness and my energy level was good. When I returned home, I more closely examined the damage....
The picture doesn't really do it justice. But, of course, I have to show off my boo-boo and put it in the 'record' for the sake of posterity. Not sure of the total time or mileage, but we'll call it right around 5 miles in 43 minutes.

I also forgot to blog my run from Tuesday. I ran after work - an out an back along Kelly Drive. The sun was shining and after all of the cold and wind we've had lately, it felt surreal to be running comfortably in shorts and a tank top. I'll take it though. 6.1 in 53 minutes.